UNDP Papua New Guinea is advertising Request for Proposal (RFP) for professional services from interested Research Organizations to undertake a Data Collection and Analysis: Gender Dimensions of Violence Action Research in Post Conflict Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

The research organization will be responsible for undertaking the quantitative research survey in Bougainville, analyze the data and draft a report of the findings.

Subject: RFP for the provision of Professional Services: Data Collection and Analysis on Gender Dimensions of Violence in Post Conflict Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

1. You are requested to submit a proposal for providing professional services: services data collection and analysis on gender dimensions of violence in post conflict Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, as per enclosed Terms of Reference (TOR).

3. Your offer comprising of seven copies of the technical proposal and one copy of the financial proposal, in separate sealed envelopes, should reach the following address no later than Wednesday, 30th June 2010 at or before 1700 hrs Fiji time.

4. If you request additional information, we would endeavor to provide information expeditiously, but any delay in providing such information will not be considered a reason for extending the submission date of your proposal.

5. You are requested to acknowledge receipt of this letter and to indicate whether or not you intend to submit a proposal.

6. Prospective offerers requiring clarification of the Solicitation Document may notify the procuring UNDP entity in writing at least five (5) working days before the set deadline through the following email amelia.siamomua@undp.org; thomas.shanahan@undp.org. Clarification will be posted on designated website on 23rd June 2010 at: http://www.undppc.org.fj/pages.cfm/working-with-us/. Clarification received after this date will not be accepted.

The Offeror shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the Proposal, the UNDP will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the solicitation.

B. Solicitation Documents

3. Contents of solicitation documents

Proposals must offer services for the total requirement. Proposals offering only part of the requirement will be rejected. The Offeror is expected to examine all corresponding instructions, forms, terms and specifications contained in the Solicitation Documents. Failure to comply with these documents will be at the Offeror’s risk and may affect the evaluation of the Proposal.

4. Clarification of solicitation documents

A prospective Offeror requiring any clarification of the Solicitation Documents may notify the procuring UNDP entity in writing at the organisation’s mailing address or fax number indicated in the RFP. The procuring UNDP entity will respond in writing to any request for clarification of the Solicitation Documents that it receives earlier than 5 working days prior to the deadline for the submission of Proposals. Written copies of the organisation’s response (including an explanation of the query but without identifying the source of inquiry) will be posted on designated website on 23rd June 2010 at: http://www.undppc.org.fj/pages.cfm/working-with-us/

5. Amendments of solicitation documents

At any time prior to the deadline for submission of Proposals, the procuring UNDP entity may, for any reason, whether at its own initiative or in response to a clarification requested by a prospective Offeror, modify the Solicitation Documents by amendment.

All prospective Offerors that have received the Solicitation Documents will be notified in writing of all amendments to the Solicitation Documents.

In order to afford prospective Offerors reasonable time in which to take the amendments into account in preparing their offers, the procuring UNDP entity may, at its discretion, extend the deadline for the submission of Proposals.

C. Preparation of Proposals

6. Language of the proposal

The Proposals prepared by the Offeror and all correspondence and documents relating to the Proposal exchanged by the Offeror and the procuring UNDP entity shall be written in the English language. Any printed literature furnished by the Offeror may be written in another language so long as accompanied by an English translation of its pertinent passages in which case, for purposes of interpretation of the Proposal, the English translation shall govern.

7. Documents comprising the proposal

The Proposal shall comprise the following components:

(a) Proposal submission form;

(b) Operational and technical part of the Proposal, including documentation to demonstrate that the Offeror meets all requirements;

I. Interested bidding agencies should submit a technical proposal that will include only:
• Short Introduction demonstrating understanding, objective and completeness of the assignment;
• Detailed Methodology including type of data collection;
• Detailed work plan indicating time frame;
• Composition and profile of team members; and
• Organization profile including relevant work experiences.

(1) A summary of the price (attached separately); and
(2) The period of its validity.

In addition, the price component must cover all the services to be provided and must itemize the following:

 An all-inclusive rate per person-day (including honorarium and living expenses) for each team member to be assigned to the research in the field and a rate for his/her work at the home/office, if any;
• An all-inclusive amount for local travel for all level staff;
• Costs for training and pretesting with detailed breakdown of other costs, if any;
• Costs for dissemination and other related costs;
• Overhead and management costs; and
• Any other.

(d) Proposal security.

8. Proposal form

The Offeror shall structure the operational and technical part of its Proposal as follows:

(a) Management plan

This section should provide corporate orientation to include the year and state/country of incorporation and a brief description of the Offeror’s present activities. It should focus on services related to the Proposal.

This section should also describe the organisational unit(s) that will become responsible for the contract, and the general management approach towards a project of this kind. The Offeror should comment on its experience in similar projects and identify the person(s) representing the Offeror in any future dealing with the procuring UNDP entity.

(b) Resource plan

This should fully explain the Offeror’s resources in terms of personnel and facilities necessary for the performance of this requirement. It should describe the Offeror’s current capabilities/facilities and any plans for their expansion.

(c) Proposed methodology

This section should demonstrate the Offeror’s responsiveness to the specification by identifying the specific components proposed, addressing the requirements, as specified, point by point; providing a detailed description of the essential performance characteristics proposed warranty; and demonstrating how the proposed methodology meets or exceeds the specifications.

The operational and technical part of the Proposal should not contain any pricing information whatsoever on the services offered. Pricing information shall be separated and only contained in the appropriate Price Schedules.

It is mandatory that the Offeror’s Proposal numbering system corresponds with the numbering system used in the body of this RFP. All references to descriptive material and brochures should be included in the appropriate response paragraph, though material/documents themselves may be provided as annexes to the Proposal/response.

Information which the Offeror considers proprietary, if any, should be dearly marked “proprietary” next to the relevant part of the text and it will then be treated as such accordingly.

9. Proposal prices

The Offeror shall indicate on an appropriate Price Schedule, an example of which is contained in these Solicitation Documents, the prices of services it proposes to supply under the contract.

10. Proposal currencies

All prices shall be quoted in US dollars or any convertible currency.

11. Period of validity of proposals

Proposals shall remain valid for ninety (90) days after the date of Proposal submission prescribed by the procuring UNDP entity, pursuant to the deadline clause. A Proposal valid for a shorter period may be rejected by the procuring UNDP entity on the grounds that it is non-responsive.

In exceptional circumstances, the procuring UNDP entity may solicit the Offeror’s consent to an extension of the period of validity. The request and the responses thereto shall be made in writing. An Offeror granting the request will not be required nor permitted to modify its Proposal.

12. Format and signing of proposals

The Offeror shall prepare two copies of the Proposal, clearly marking each “Original Proposal” and “Copy of Proposal” as appropriate. In the event of any discrepancy between them, the original shall govern.

The two copies of the Proposal shall be typed or written in indelible ink and shall be signed by the Offeror or a person or persons duly authorised to bind the Offeror to the contract. The latter authorisation shall be indicated by written power-of-attorney accompanying the Proposal.

A Proposal shall contain no interlineations, erasures, or overwriting except, as necessary to correct errors made by the Offeror, in which case such corrections shall be initialled by the person or persons signing the Proposal.
13. Payment

UNDP shall effect payments to the Contractor after acceptance by UNDP of the invoices submitted by the contractor, upon achievement of the corresponding milestones.

Payment will be made in three installments as follows:
• 30% installment after submission of the inception report;
• 40% after completion of the data collection and submission of the draft report; and
• 30% after completing the final report and acceptance of the same by National Working Group and Regional Technical Advisory Group.

D. Submission of Proposals

14. Sealing and marking of proposals

The Offeror shall seal the Proposal in one outer and two inner envelopes, as detailed below.

“RFP for the provision of Professional Services: Data Collection and Analysis on Gender Dimensions of Violence in Post Conflict Bougainville, Papua New Guinea”

(b) Both inner envelopes shall indicate the name and address of the Offeror. The first inner envelope shall contain the information specified in Clause 8 (Proposal form) above, with the copies duly marked “Original” and “Copy”. The second inner envelope shall include the price schedule duly identified as such.

Note, if the inner envelopes are not sealed and marked as per the instructions in this clause, the procuring UNDP entity will not assume responsibility for the Proposal’s misplacement or premature opening.

15. Deadline for submission of proposals

Proposals must be received by the procuring UNDP entity at the address specified under clause Sealing and marking of Proposals no later than Wednesday, 30thJune 2010 at or before 1700 hrs Fiji time

The procuring UNDP entity may, at its own discretion extend this deadline for the submission of Proposals by amending the solicitation documents in accordance with clause Amendments of Solicitation Documents, in which case all rights and obligations of the procuring UNDP entity and Offerors previously subject to the deadline will thereafter be subject to the deadline as extended.

16. Late Proposals

Any Proposal received by the procuring UNDP entity after the deadline for submission of proposals, pursuant to clause Deadline for the submission of proposals, will be rejected.

17. Modification and withdrawal of Proposals

The Offeror may withdraw its Proposal after the Proposal’s submission, provided that written notice of the withdrawal is received by the procuring UNDP entity prior to the deadline prescribed for submission of Proposals.

The Offeror’s withdrawal notice shall be prepared, sealed, marked, and dispatched in accordance with the provisions of clause Deadline for Submission of Proposals. The withdrawal notice may also be sent by telex or fax but followed by a signed confirmation copy.

No Proposal may be modified subsequent to the deadline for submission of proposals.

No Proposal may be withdrawn in the Interval between the deadline for submission of proposals and the expiration of the period of proposal validity specified by the Offeror on the Proposal Submission Form.

E. Opening and Evaluation of Proposals

18. Opening of proposals

The procuring entity will open the Proposals in the presence of a Committee formed by the Head of the procuring UNDP entity.

19. Clarification of proposals

To assist in the examination, evaluation and comparison of Proposals, the Purchaser may at its discretion, ask the Offeror for clarification of its Proposal. The request for clarification and the response shall be in writing and no change in price or substance of the Proposal shall be sought, offered or permitted.

20. Preliminary examination

The Purchaser will examine the Proposals to determine whether they are complete, whether any computational errors have been made, whether the documents have been properly signed, and whether the Proposals are generally in order.

Arithmetical errors will be rectified on the following basis: If there is a discrepancy between the unit price and the total price that is obtained by multiplying the unit price and quantity, the unit price shall prevail and the total price shall be corrected. If the Offeror does not accept the correction of errors, its Proposal will be rejected. If there is a discrepancy between words and figures the amount in words will prevail.

Prior to the detailed evaluation, the Purchaser will determine the substantial responsiveness of each Proposal to the Request for Proposals (RFP). For purposes of these Clauses, a substantially responsive Proposal is one which conforms to all the terms and conditions of the RFP without material deviations. The Purchaser’s determination of a Proposal’s responsiveness is based on the contents of the Proposal itself without recourse to extrinsic evidence.

A Proposal determined as not substantially responsive will be rejected by the Purchaser and may not subsequently be made responsive by the Offeror by correction of the non-conformity.

21. Evaluation and comparison of proposals

A two-stage procedure is utilized in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any financial proposal being opened and compared. The financial proposal of the proposals will be opened only for submissions that passed the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points in the evaluation of the technical proposals.

The technical proposal is evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to the Term of Reference.

In the Second Stage, the financial proposal of all bidders, who have attained minimum 70% score in the technical evaluation, will be compared. The short-listed bidding agencies may be asked for a presentation prior to the final selection.

Technical Evaluation Criteria:

Criteria, sub-criteria Points
1. Demonstrated understanding, objective and completeness of the assignment 30
2. Methodology and implementation plan
a) Details and quality (adequacy) of methodology proposed for the assignment
b) Detailed implementation plan indicating time frame 30
3. Proposed Team
a) Detailed description of the proposed team, position with the company with CVs (not more than three pages for each CV) of the proposed Team Leader and other key team members.
20
4. Organization
a) Profile (including administrative and logistics facilities available), experience in similar assignment in last 10 years, client list, management control system.
b) Exposure in working with UN, International Donor and development agencies.
c) Additional resources/logistics which can be made available to conduct the survey. 20
Total Points 100

Evaluation forms for technical proposals follow on the next two pages. The obtainable number of points specified for each evaluation criterion indicates the relative significance or weight of the item in the overall evaluation process. The Technical Proposal Evaluation Forms are:

Form 1: Demonstrated understanding, objective and completeness of the assignment

Form 2: Methodology and implementation plan

Form 3: Proposed Team

Form 4: Organization

Note: The score weights and points obtainable in the evaluation sheet are tentative and should be changed depending on the need or major attributes of technical proposal.

2.1 Have the important aspects of the task been addressed in sufficient detail? 5
2.2 Details and quality (adequacy) of methodology proposed for the assignment 10
2.3 Is the scope of task well defined and does it correspond to the TOR? 5
2.4 Detailed implementation plan indicating time frame 10
30

4.1 Reputation of Organisation and Staff (Competence / Reliability) 5
4.2 Additional resources/logistics which can be made available to conduct the survey. 3

4.3 General Organizational Capability which is likely to affect implementation (i.e. loose consortium, holding company or one firm, size of the firm / organisation, strength of project management support e.g. project financing capacity and project management controls) 4

4.4 Relevance of:
- Specialized Knowledge
- Experience on Similar Programme / Projects
- Experience on Projects in the Region
Work for UNDP/ major multilateral/ or bilateral programmes 8
20

F. Award of Contract

22. Award criteria, award of contract

The procuring UNDP entity reserves the right to accept or reject any Proposal, and to annul the solicitation process and reject all Proposals at any time prior to award of contract, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected Offeror or any obligation to inform the affected Offeror or Offerors of the grounds for the Purchaser’s action

Prior to expiration of the period of proposal validity, the procuring UNDP entity will award the contract to the qualified Offeror whose Proposal after being evaluated is considered to be the most responsive to the needs of the organisation and activity concerned.

The contract will be awarded to the successful bidder following completion of all evaluation including negotiation (only in exceptional cases), if necessary.

23. Purchaser’s right to vary requirements at time of award

The Purchaser reserves the right at the time of award of contract to vary the quantity of services and goods specified in the RFP without any change in price or other terms and conditions.

24. Signing of the contract

Within 30 days of receipt of the contract the successful Offeror shall sign and date the contract and return it to the Purchaser.

25. Performance security

Within 30 days of the receipt of the Contract from the Purchaser, the successful Offeror shall provide the performance security on the Performance Security Form provided in the Solicitation Documents and in accordance with the Special Conditions of Contract.

Failure of the successful Offeror to comply with the requirement of Clause 24 or Clause 25 shall constitute sufficient grounds for the annulment of the award and forfeiture of the Proposal security if any, in which event the Purchaser may make the award to the next lowest evaluated Offeror or call for new Proposals.

Annex II
General Conditions of Contract

1. LEGAL STATUS

The Contractor shall be considered as having the legal status of an independent contractor vis-à-vis UNDP. The Contractor's personnel and sub-contractors shall not be considered in any respect as being the employees or agents of UNDP or the United Nations.

2. SOURCE OF INSTRUCTIONS

The Contractor shall neither seek nor accept instructions from any authority external to UNDP in connection with the performance of its services under this Contract. The Contractor shall refrain from any action which may adversely affect UNDP or the United Nations and shall fulfil its commitments with the fullest regard to the interests of UNDP.

3. CONTRACTOR'S RESPONSIBILITY FOR EMPLOYEES

The Contractor shall be responsible for the professional and technical competence of its employees and will select, for work under this Contract, reliable individuals who will perform effectively in the implementation of this Contract, respect the local customs, and conform to a high standard of moral and ethical conduct.

4. ASSIGNMENT

The Contractor shall not assign, transfer, pledge or make other disposition of this Contract or any part thereof, or any of the Contractor's rights, claims or obligations under this Contract except with the prior written consent of UNDP.

5. SUB-CONTRACTING

In the event the Contractor requires the services of sub-contractors, the Contractor shall obtain the prior written approval and clearance of UNDP for all sub-contractors. The approval of UNDP of a sub-contractor shall not relieve the Contractor of any of its obligations under this Contract. The terms of any sub-contract shall be subject to and conform with the provisions of this Contract.

6. OFFICIALS NOT TO BENEFIT

The Contractor warrants that no official of UNDP or the United Nations has received or will be offered by the Contractor any direct or indirect benefit arising from this Contract or the award thereof. The Contractor agrees that breach of this provision is a breach of an essential term of this Contract.

7. INDEMNIFICATION

The Contractor shall indemnify, hold and save harmless, and defend, at its own expense, UNDP, its officials, agents, servants and employees from and against all suits, claims, demands, and liability of any nature or kind, including their costs and expenses, arising out of acts or omissions of the Contractor, or the Contractor's employees, officers, agents or sub-contractors, in the performance of this Contract. This provision shall extend, inter alia, to claims and liability in the nature of workmen's compensation, products liability and liability arising out of the use of patented inventions or devices, copyrighted material or other intellectual property by the Contractor, its employees, officers, agents, servants or sub-contractors. The obligations under this Article do not lapse upon termination of this Contract.

8. INSURANCE AND LIABILITIES TO THIRD PARTIES

8.1 The Contractor shall provide and thereafter maintain insurance against all risks in respect of its property and any equipment used for the execution of this Contract.
8.2 The Contractor shall provide and thereafter maintain all appropriate workmen's compensation insurance, or its equivalent, with respect to its employees to cover claims for personal injury or death in connection with this Contract.
8.3 The Contractor shall also provide and thereafter maintain liability insurance in an adequate amount to cover third party claims for death or bodily injury, or loss of or damage to property, arising from or in connection with the provision of services under this Contract or the operation of any vehicles, boats, airplanes or other equipment owned or leased by the Contractor or its agents, servants, employees or sub-contractors performing work or services in connection with this Contract.
8.4 Except for the workmen's compensation insurance, the insurance policies under this Article shall:

(i) Name UNDP as additional insured;

(ii) Include a waiver of subrogation of the Contractor's rights to the insurance carrier against UNDP;

(iii) Provide that UNDP shall receive thirty (30) days written notice from the insurers prior to any cancellation or change of coverage.

8.5 The Contractor shall, upon request, provide UNDP with satisfactory evidence of the insurance required under this Article.

E. 9. ENCUMBRANCES/LIENS

The Contractor shall not cause or permit any lien, attachment or other encumbrance by any person to be placed on file or to remain on file in any public office or on file with UNDP against any monies due or to become due for any work done or materials furnished under this Contract, or by reason of any other claim or demand against the Contractor.

10. TITLE TO EQUIPMENT

Title to any equipment and supplies that may be furnished by UNDP shall rest with UNDP and any such equipment shall be returned to UNDP at the conclusion of this Contract or when no longer needed by the Contractor. Such equipment, when returned to UNDP, shall be in the same condition as when delivered to the Contractor, subject to normal wear and tear. The Contractor shall be liable to compensate UNDP for equipment determined to be damaged or degraded beyond normal wear and tear.

11. COPYRIGHT, PATENTS AND OTHER PROPRIETARY RIGHTS

UNDP shall be entitled to all intellectual property and other proprietary rights including but not limited to patents, copyrights, and trademarks, with regard to products, or documents and other materials which bear a direct relation to or are produced or prepared or collected in consequence of or in the course of the execution of this Contract. At the UNDP's request, the Contractor shall take all necessary steps, execute all necessary documents and generally assist in securing such proprietary rights and transferring them to UNDP in compliance with the requirements of the applicable law.

12. USE OF NAME, EMBLEM OR OFFICIAL SEAL OF UNDP OR THE UNITED NATIONS

The Contractor shall not advertise or otherwise make public the fact that it is a Contractor with UNDP, nor shall the Contractor, in any manner whatsoever use the name, emblem or official seal of UNDP or the United Nations, or any abbreviation of the name of UNDP or the United Nations in connection with its business or otherwise.

13. CONFIDENTIAL NATURE OF DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION

13.1 All maps, drawings, photographs, mosaics, plans, reports, recommendations, estimates, documents and all other data compiled by or received by the Contractor under this Contract shall be the property of UNDP, shall be treated as confidential and shall be delivered only to UNDP authorized officials on completion of work under this Contract.
13.2 The Contractor may not communicate at any time to any other person, Government or authority external to UNDP, any information known to it by reason of its association with UNDP which has not been made public except with the authorization of UNDP; nor shall the Contractor at any time use such information to private advantage. These obligations do not lapse upon termination of this Contract.

14. FORCE MAJEURE; OTHER CHANGES IN CONDITIONS

14.1 Force majeure, as used in this Article, means acts of God, war (whether declared or not), invasion, revolution, insurrection, or other acts of a similar nature or force which are beyond the control of the Parties.
14.2 In the event of and as soon as possible after the occurrence of any cause constituting force majeure, the Contractor shall give notice and full particulars in writing to UNDP, of such occurrence or change if the Contractor is thereby rendered unable, wholly or in part, to perform its obligations and meet its responsibilities under this Contract. The Contractor shall also notify UNDP of any other changes in conditions or the occurrence of any event which interferes or threatens to interfere with its performance of this Contract. The notice shall include steps proposed by the Contractor to be taken including any reasonable alternative means for performance that is not prevented by force majeure. On receipt of the notice required under this Article, UNDP shall take such action as, in its sole discretion; it considers to be appropriate or necessary in the circumstances, including the granting to the Contractor of a reasonable extension of time in which to perform its obligations under this Contract.
14.3 If the Contractor is rendered permanently unable, wholly, or in part, by reason of force majeure to perform its obligations and meet its responsibilities under this Contract, UNDP shall have the right to suspend or terminate this Contract on the same terms and conditions as are provided for in Article 15, "Termination", except that the period of notice shall be seven (7) days instead of thirty (30) days.

15. TERMINATION

15.1 Either party may terminate this Contract for cause, in whole or in part, upon thirty days notice, in writing, to the other party. The initiation of arbitral proceedings in accordance with Article 16 "Settlement of Disputes" below shall not be deemed a termination of this Contract.
15.2 UNDP reserves the right to terminate without cause this Contract at any time upon 15 days prior written notice to the Contractor, in which case UNDP shall reimburse the Contractor for all reasonable costs incurred by the Contractor prior to receipt of the notice of termination.
15.3 In the event of any termination by UNDP under this Article, no payment shall be due from UNDP to the Contractor except for work and services satisfactorily performed in conformity with the express terms of this Contract. The Contractor shall take immediate steps to terminate the work and services in a prompt and orderly manner and to minimize losses and further expenditures.
15.4 Should the Contractor be adjudged bankrupt, or be liquidated or become insolvent, or should the Contractor make an assignment for the benefit of its creditors, or should a Receiver be appointed on account of the insolvency of the Contractor, UNDP may, without prejudice to any other right or remedy it may have, terminate this Contract forthwith. The Contractor shall immediately inform UNDP of the occurrence of any of the above events.

16. SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES

16.1. Amicable Settlement

The Parties shall use their best efforts to settle amicably any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of, or relating to this Contract or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof. Where the parties wish to seek such an amicable settlement through conciliation, the conciliation shall take place in accordance with the UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules then obtaining, or according to such other procedure as may be agreed between the parties.

16.2. Arbitration

Unless, any such dispute, controversy or claim between the Parties arising out of or relating to this Contract or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof is settled amicably under the preceding paragraph of this Article within sixty (60) days after receipt by one Party of the other Party's request for such amicable settlement, such dispute, controversy or claim shall be referred by either Party to arbitration in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules then obtaining, including its provisions on applicable law. The arbitral tribunal shall have no authority to award punitive damages. The Parties shall be bound by any arbitration award rendered as a result of such arbitration as the final adjudication of any such controversy, claim or dispute.

PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES

Nothing in or relating to this Contract shall be deemed a waiver, express or implied, of any of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations, including its subsidiary organs.

TAX EXEMPTION

18.1 Section 7 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations provides inter-alia that the United Nations, including its subsidiary organs, is exempt from all direct taxes, except charges for public utility services, and is exempt from customs duties and charges of a similar nature in respect of articles imported or exported for its official use. In the event any governmental authority refuses to recognize the United Nations exemption from such taxes, duties or charges, the Contractor shall immediately consult with UNDP to determine a mutually acceptable procedure.
18.2 Accordingly, the Contractor authorizes UNDP to deduct from the Contractor's invoice any amount representing such taxes, duties or charges, unless the Contractor has consulted with UNDP before the payment thereof and UNDP has, in each instance, specifically authorized the Contractor to pay such taxes, duties or charges under protest. In that event, the Contractor shall provide UNDP with written evidence that payment of such taxes, duties or charges has been made and appropriately authorized.

19 CHILD LABOUR
19.1 The Contractor represents and warrants that neither it, nor any of its suppliers is engaged in any practice inconsistent with the rights set forth in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including Article 32 thereof, which, inter alia, requires that a child shall be protected from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
19.2 Any breach of this representation and warranty shall entitle UNDP to terminate this Contract immediately upon notice to the Contractor, at no cost to UNDP.

MINES
20.1 The Contractor represents and warrants that neither it nor any of its suppliers is actively and directly engaged in patent activities, development, assembly, production, trade or manufacture of mines or in such activities in respect of components primarily utilized in the manufacture of Mines. The term "Mines" means those devices defined in Article 2, Paragraphs 1, 4 and 5 of Protocol II annexed to the Convention on Prohibitions and Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects of 1980.

20.2 Any breach of this representation and warranty shall entitle UNDP to terminate this Contract immediately upon notice to the Contractor, without any liability for termination charges or any other liability of any kind of UNDP.

OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW

The Contractor shall comply with all laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations bearing upon the performance of its obligations under the terms of this Contract.

AUTHORITY TO MODIFY

No modification or change in this Contract, no waiver of any of its provisions or any additional contractual relationship of any kind with the Contractor shall be valid and enforceable against UNDP unless provided by an amendment to this Contract signed by the authorized official of UNDP.

Violence against women (VAW) is endemic in the Pacific with some of the highest reported incidences in the world. Recent research nationally representative data from the Solomon Islands and Kiribati has revealed prevalence rates of physical and/or sexual partner violence of 64% and 68% respectively, among ever-partnered women aged 15 – 49.

In Papua New Guinea, distortions of tradition have negatively impacted on the status of women. The unequal status and power relations of women’s conditions in Papua New Guinea are most graphically illustrated by extreme forms of VAW. Papua New Guinea suffers from some of the highest rates of domestic violence per capita in the world. With 67 percent of the women surveyed in the Law Reform Commission’s work in 1980s had been a victim of physical assault by a male partner. In one study by the Institute of Medical Research, 60 percent of the participating men admitted to having pack (gang) raped a woman at some time. For the same study 50 percent of married women interviewed said their husbands had forced them to have sex either by beating them or using threats.

B) Bougainville Crisis

The island of Bougainville was devastated by a civil war between local groups and the Papua New Guinean government. The Bougainville conflict had a tremendous impact on gender relations. There is a widespread perception that VAW increased dramatically during the crisis period, with women experiencing humiliation, physical and psychological violence and were regularly subjected to rape and other forms of sexual assault, forced marriage, forced separation from non-Bougainvillean husbands, by soldiers and Bougainvillean men. Interviews with women from different parts of Bougainville tell that most sexual crimes were under gunpoint and that women were raped and forced to have sex with soldiers from both sides.

During the crisis young boys were recruited by both sides. Some of these boys were not more than 10 years old and virtually grew up in the jungle and were trained as soldiers . Some of these boys also were used as couriers, messengers and spies . Youth that had lived in the jungle for years and trained as soldiers became violent and engaged in rape of women, incest and gang related violence (K Hakena 2001: 11). The militarization of Bougainville and normalization of violence has “revived young men’s roles as warriors, giving them glamour, status, power and income.” Thus there is a whole generation of young men that have grown up without learning traditional livelihood and survival skills.

With the end of the war, a number of ex-combatants have passed down their weapons to younger members of their communities. The younger gun-holders are also hearing stories of war bravery associated with the armed violence, and these are forming parts of received masculinity patterns. To them, guns give them access to status that is otherwise reserved for elders. For the youth, the easy access to guns is creating the rapid development of a gun culture that challenges traditional and cultural ways of acquiring status and importance within communities.

During the crisis traditional leadership structures were affected, but in recent years they are slowly regaining authority in communities with clan and family structures returning. However, tensions remain especially in the Southern region not least among the “lost” generation of youth that grew up in the jungle and that were forgotten in the peace process, together with women.

There are many variables exacerbating and fuelling this violence. Among them, gender identities – the way in which men and women are socialized, the roles and expectations that are placed on them by family and society – “what it means to be a man,” and “what it means to be a woman,” - is a key feature. An emerging hypothesis is that for men, the use and control of violence - in both the private and public sphere – is increasingly a critical feature of their social identity and sense of manhood.

C) Engaging Men and Boys to Prevent Violence

Recently there has been a growing recognition of the importance of working with men and boys for violence prevention. As the World Bank states “the subject of male identities, the link between masculinity and violence, the need to encourage a non-militarized masculinity and the particular positions of adolescent and young men require considerable attention in research, programme design and planning.”

Global research has highlighted that approaches that work exclusively with women or do not address masculinity issues have proven to be ineffective in violence prevention . In the Pacific there has been research on the incidence and prevalence of VAW, however, there has been less attention on the causes of violence or on men’s gendered roles – how violence influences them and why men use violence to assert themselves. Given the majority of perpetrators are young men, it is critical to gain an understanding of their experiences and identify potential alternatives and positive role models to prevent and reduce incidences of violence in the region.

D) Rationale for Action Research

In 2008 the PNG Government approved the UN Country Programme (UNCP) – A Partnership for Nation Building, for the period 2008 – 2012. The UNCP has three intermediary outcomes that focus on crisis prevention and recovery: a) conflict prevention and nation building b) disaster risk management c) Gender-Based Violence (GBV).

Building on existing partnerships, programming experience and field presence, the work on community security, peace building and gender-based violence will commence first in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

While the environment in PNG is riddled with complexities making it difficult to tackle the issue of GBV, there is a renewed focus on addressing GBV through a national strategy and action plan on ending family and sexual violence in PNG, through the Family Sexual Violence Action Committee (FSVAC) and the work of the National Council of Women (NCW).

The UNDP GBV work programme has three main components: a) Research for Policy & Programming: adding to the research base to support a stronger evidence base for further targeted advocacy, policy support and programming to address GBV; b) Awareness for Action: use targeted and relevant messaging to raise awareness with youth groups and involve boys and men in supporting GBV prevention; c) Institutional Capacity Development for enhanced response and prevention for GBV: a two-pronged approach to support the formal and informal response mechanisms which support women’s security and prevent further perpetuation of GBV.

The UNDP GBV work programme will leverage support from the UNDP Pacific Centre and the UN Partners for Prevention Programme (P4P): Working with men and boys to prevent gender-based violence in the Asia-Pacific region. P4P have developed a regional research project on engaging men and boys to prevent gender-based violence in the Asia-Pacific region, including some conflict and post-conflict contexts. This includes research in China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

In Bougainville there is a lack of reliable information related to violence in Bougainville. This includes statistics and prevalence of different forms of violence, a lack of understanding of the root causes and triggers of violence from a gender perspective; lack of understanding of boy’s and men’s attitudes and behaviours related to violence.

Within this context and with the UNCP in mind, UNDP Papua New Guinea Country Office in partnership with UNDP Pacific Centre and supported by the UN Partners for Prevention Programming are proposing to undertake action-oriented research on the gender dimensions of violence in Bougainville.

The objectives of this action-oriented research are the following:

• To provide a baseline/benchmark of men’s and boy’s attitudes and behaviours towards violence within a post-conflict context and ongoing peace process;
• Review and adapt ongoing UN programming on GBV prevention, community security, social cohesion, small arms control, reintegration of ex-combatants and reconciliation to address differentiated needs of men and women, boys and girls.
• To strengthen the evidence based for more comprehensive policy responses to violence from a gender perspective and identify spaces where policy enhancements can be made to advance gender equality in Bougainville.
• To inform the design pilot initiatives and determine existing efforts to engage men and boys to prevent violence that can be scaled up in Bougainville.

The action research has three main components:

1. Quantitative research – cross-sectional household survey with men and women (based on the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES));
2. Qualitative research – in-depth, life history interviews with men focusing on alternative non-violent understandings of “manhood” / “masculinity” and with male perpetrators of violence;
3. Policy analysis – analysis of institutional factors that contribute to dominant masculinities and GBV and mapping governance and policy spaces to identify entry points for engaging boys and men for violence prevention.

Understanding the gender dimensions of violence require looking at multiple, interconnected factors at the societal, community, family and individual levels. The structure of the research, with three inter-connected and complementary components, creates a comprehensive and holistic picture of the underlying norms, attitudes and behaviours related to the use of violence from a gender perspective in Bougainville.

UNDP Papua New Guinea is seeking a research organization to carry out the quantitative research survey – based on the IMAGES tool and adapted to the Bougainville context.

2) OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The overarching objective of this assignment is to undertake the quantitative research survey in Bougainville, analyze the data and draft a report of the findings. Technical assistance and oversight for this process will be provided by a National Working Group and an Asia-Pacific Regional Technical Advisory Group.

The focus of the quantitative survey and data analysis is the following:

• Prevalence of different types (political, social, criminal, economic etc) of violence in Bougainville based on a fully representative sample;
• Current behaviours and attitudes of men focusing on gender dimensions violence and the post-conflict context in Bougainville;
• Compare these results with women’s attitudes and behaviours on the same issues;
• Explore individual, community and social factors that explain variation in men’s behaviours.
• Assess men’s knowledge of attitudes towards policies that have sought to promote gender equality and on the peace process;

3) SCOPE OF WORK

For the research a working group will be set up comprised of provincial and national government, UN, civil society and research/academic institution. They will provide support and advice during the three components of the research: quantitative, qualitative and policy analysis. Different partners may take on different roles for the different components of the research but the three components should be understood as a whole process.

A cross sectional survey will be carried out in Bougainville with randomly selected men and women from the prescribed study sites (will be discussed after the award, however the bidders are encouraged to suggest their thinking) on men’s and women’s behaviors and attitudes as they relate to gender equality and violence.

Men and women ages 18 to 49 years will be interviewed. These individuals will also be a representative sample of the different socio-economic classes of the study sites. Sample size for the quantitative study is approximately 1500 for both men and women. To insure the safety of women, interviews with men and women are not carried out in the same household.

Implementation Stages

Programming Personal Digital Assistants: The survey will use personal digital assistants in the data collection for the following reasons:

• They facilitates the asking of questions about the most sensitive topics;
• No data entry is required which reduces data entry error and speeds up data input and clean-up;
• They address the ethical issues related to asking questions of men about involvement in criminal activities (i.e. rape, theft etc). It is unethical for an interviewer to ask such questions face-to-face as they may have a legal obligation to report positive responses to the police. With PDAs the respondent’s answers will remain totally anonymous;
• They address issues of interviewer fatigue and interviewer bias;
• Experience from the previous studies clearly indicates that self-administered paper and pencil questionnaires are difficult for respondents to complete due to complex skip patterns. This often results in missing data. PDAs can be programmed to automatically make the necessary skips, thus addressing this issue;
• PDAs can be audio enhanced which is particularly useful for populations with low literacy.

The UN Partners for Prevention Programme will be procuring and programming the PDAs for the survey research.

National Research Protocol: The successful research institute will work with the National Working Group to develop a national protocol (based on regional protocol) for the quantitative research phase.

Instrument adaptation and validation:

The large scale survey of 1500 men and 1500 women will be adapted for the Bougainville context from IMAGES by the National Working Group, which the successful research institute will be part of.

The surveys will include items relevant to the key constructs of gender norms; attitudes toward women in general; gender dimensions of different types of violence; Survey items will assess knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, values, and practices relevant to all the key constructs. Item response format will include Likert-type, yes/no, and checklist. The instruments will be translated into the local language using a back translation method to insure accuracy.

The instruments will be piloted with a small sample of respondents to assess instrument utility (e.g., with regard to meaning, language, clarity of instructions). Revisions will be made on the basis of this feedback. The revised instrument will then be administered to a representative sample for the larger survey. A field supervisor will make sure the data collected is of highest quality and will do quality checks on a regular basis.

Training of Field Investigators
Given the complexity of the questionnaire and the sensitivity of the research topic, and based on WHO ethical guidelines for research on violence against women, interviewer training will require a minimum of 2 weeks. Technical assistance for interviewer training will be provided by UN Partners for Prevention.

Interviewer training will focus on practicing using the questionnaire, and on preparing the interviewer for the field. The curriculum for training interviewers will cover the following:
• Sensitization activities on gender and violence against women;
• Employment expectations, payment and working conditions, mechanisms for quality control;
• The aim of the survey, the role of the interviewer, how to conduct interviews;
• Elementary counseling principles and techniques;
• The importance of safety, privacy and maintaining confidentiality;
• Procedures on how to respond to men/women reporting violence;
• Practice interviews, including identifying when it is safe to proceed with an interview, ways to handle interrupted interviews;
• Sampling procedures, including repeated visits and re-sampling;
• Use of PDAs.

Data Cleaning:
With the use of PDAs, no data entry will be required. The research institute will be responsible for data cleaning with technical support from the regional advisory group.

Data Analysis Plan: Analysis will include frequencies, and measures of association between relevant variables, and the testing of hypotheses regarding associations and factors associated with men’s attitudes, behaviours and GBV.

A data analysis and report writing workshop will be organized in collaboration with the Technical Support Team for the analysis plan of the collected data. This workshop will in identifying key indicators which can then be used for wider dissemination. One of the key outcomes of this workshop will be the finalization of the contents of the report.

1) National protocol for quantitative research, including sample design;
2) An adapted and translated version of the IMAGES survey tool focused on gender dimensions of violence in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea;
3) Trained field staff and survey takers;
4) Data collection in selected study sites with approximately 1500 men and 1500 women;
5) Draft report of the quantitative research findings; and
6) Final report incorporating feedback from NWG and Regional TAG.
6) MONITORING AND PROGRESS CONTROLS

The research organization will have:
• Proven experience conducting primary research on development issues, including VAW mainly in the context of Papua New Guinea.
• Proven experience in quantitative research, data analysis, and dissemination of knowledge in the fields of gender and development and VAW;
• Demonstrated ability to conduct complex data analysis including frequencies, cross-tabulations, multi-variate logistic regression, and modelling.
• Proven experience selecting, training and supporting effective and committed researchers.
• Experience in research that aims to understand the gender dimensions of violence or men’s attitudes towards violence, or in areas related to gender and violence a strong asset;
 Education for research team: advanced university degree in research methods or related field;
 Demonstrated ability to ensure representative sampling and rigorous data collection resulting in comprehensive and quality data: i.e. A strong portfolio of past research projects and examples of work available for review during the bidding process.
 Understanding of and respect for ethical and safety issues associated with conducting research on violence against women.
 Language: research team must be able to work and communicate well in English and knowledge of the local language would be an asset.

Interested research institutions are encouraged to form research teams from multi-sectoral disciplines and agencies for the survey.

8) GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

• Submitted offers will be reviewed to determine compliance with the criteria/requirement included in the TOR. Examples of formal requirements may include, but not limited to, the following:
1. The offers must be submitted within the stipulated deadline;
2. The offers must meet the required offer validity;
3. The offers have been signed by the proper authority; and
4. The offers include requested organization’s/company’s documentation, including documentation regarding the organization’s/company’s legal status and registration.

• No additional support services or cost reimbursement will be provided outside of the amount agreed upon in the contract.
• The data, study report and findings will be treated as UNDP property. The reports or documents or any part, therefore, cannot be sold, used, or reproduced in any manner without the prior written approval of UNDP.
• Information related to evaluation of proposals and recommendations concerning awards shall not be disclosed to the organizations who submitted the proposals or to other persons not officially concerned with the process, until the winning organization has been awarded the contract.
• The proposal shall be valid for 90 days from the deadline for submission. UNDP will make its best effort to select a company/organization within this period.
• The cost of preparing a proposal and of negotiating a contract, including any related travel, is not reimbursable nor can it be included as a direct cost of the assignment.
• The price component must contain an overall quotation in a single currency, either PNG Kina or in US Dollars. If you opt for the latter and for evaluation purposes only, your proposal will be converted into PNG currency using the United Nations rate of exchange in effect on the date submissions are due.
• The proposals must be received by UNDP at the above address on or before 30 June 2010. Any proposal received after this date may be rejected. UNDP may, at its discretion, extend the deadline for the submission of proposals.

Annex IV

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION FORM

Dear Sir / Madam,

Having examined the Solicitation Documents, the receipt of which is hereby duly acknowledged, we, the undersigned, offer to provide Professional Consulting services (profession/activity for
Project / programme / office) for the sum as may be ascertained in accordance with the Price Schedule attached herewith and made part of this Proposal.

We undertake, if our Proposal is accepted, to commence and complete delivery of all services specified in the contract within the time frame stipulated.

We agree to abide by this Proposal for a period of 120 days from the date fixed for opening of
Proposals in the Invitation for Proposal, and it shall remain binding upon us and may be accepted at any time before the expiration of that period.

We understand that you are not bound to accept any Proposal you may receive.

Dated this day /month of year

F. Signature

(In the capacity of)

Duly authorised to sign Proposal for and on behalf of

Annex V
PRICE SCHEDULE

The Contractor is asked to prepare the Price Schedule as a separate envelope from the rest of the RFP response as indicated in Section D paragraph 14 (b) of the Instruction to Offerors.

All prices/rates quoted must be exclusive of all taxes, since the UNDP is exempt from taxes as detailed in Section II, Clause 18. ’

The Price Schedule must provide a detailed cost breakdown. Provide separate figures for each functional grouping or category.

Estimates for cost-reimbursable items, if any, such as travel, and out of pocket expenses should be listed separately.

In case of an equipment component to the service provided, the Price Schedule should include figures for both purchase and lease/rent options. The UNDP reserves the option to either lease/rent or purchase outright the equipment through the Contractor.

The format shown on the following pages should be used in preparing the price schedule. The format includes specific expenditures, which may or may not be required or applicable but are indicated to serve as examples.

In addition to the hard copy, if possible please also provide the information as a soft copy (IBM compatible).

Price Schedule:

Request for Proposals for Services

Description of Activity/Item Number of Staff G. Monthly Rate Estimated Amount
1. Remuneration
1.1 Services in Home office
1.2 Services in Field

AND WHEREAS it has been stipulated by you in the said Contract that the Contractor shall furnish you with a Bank Guarantee by a recognised bank for the sum specified therein as security for compliance with his obligations in accordance with the Contract:

AND WHEREAS we have agreed to give the Contractor such a Bank Guarantee:

NOW THEREFORE we hereby affirm that we are the Guarantor and responsible to you, on behalf of the Contractor, up to a total of [amount of guarantee] [in words], such sum being payable in the types and proportions of currencies in which the Contract Price is payable, and we undertake to pay you, upon your first written demand and without cavil or argument, any sum or sums within the limits of [amount of guarantee as aforesaid] without your needing to prove or to show grounds or reasons for your demand for the sum specified therein.

The guarantee shall be valid until a date 30 days from the date of issue of a satisfactory certificate of inspection and testing by the procuring UN entity.

Gender
Dimensions of Violence Action Research in Post Conflict Bougainville,
Papua New Guinea

Data
Collection and Analysis

AGENCY NAME:

UNDP
Papua New Guinea

COUNTRY:

Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

1)
GENERAL BACKGROUND

A) Violence Against Women in
the Pacific and Papua New Guinea

Violence against women (VAW)
is endemic in the Pacific with some of the highest reported incidences in
the world. Recent research nationally representative data from the Solomon
Islands and Kiribati has revealed prevalence rates of physical and/or
sexual partner violence of 64% and 68% respectively, among ever-partnered
women aged 15 – 49.

In Papua New
Guinea, distortions of tradition have negatively impacted on the status of
women. The unequal status and power relations of women’s conditions in
Papua New Guinea are most graphically illustrated by extreme forms of VAW.
Papua New Guinea suffers from some of the highest rates of domestic
violence per capita in the world. With 67 percent of the women surveyed in
the Law Reform Commission’s work in 1980s had been a victim of physical
assault by a male partner.[1]In one study by the
Institute of Medical Research, 60 percent of the participating men
admitted to having pack (gang) raped a woman at some time. For the same
study 50 percent of married women interviewed said their husbands had
forced them to have sex either by beating them or using threats.

B) Bougainville
Crisis

The island of
Bougainville was devastated by a civil war between local groups and the
Papua New Guinean government. The Bougainville conflict had a tremendous
impact on gender relations. There is a widespread perception that VAW
increased dramatically during the crisis period, with women experiencing humiliation,
physical and psychological violence and were regularly subjected to rape
and other forms of sexual assault, forced marriage, forced separation from
non-Bougainvillean husbands, by soldiers and Bougainvillean men.
Interviews with women from different parts of Bougainville tell that most
sexual crimes were under gunpoint and that women were raped and forced to
have sex with soldiers from both sides.

During the crisis
young boys were
recruited by both sides. Some of these boys were not more than 10 years
old and virtually grew up in the jungle and were trained as soldiers[2].
Some of these boys also were used as couriers, messengers and spies[3].
Youth that had lived in the jungle for years and trained as soldiers
became violent and engaged in rape of women, incest and gang related
violence (K Hakena 2001: 11). The militarization of Bougainville and
normalization of violence has “revived young men’s roles as warriors,
giving them glamour, status, power and income.”[4]
Thus there is a whole generation of young men that have grown up without
learning traditional livelihood and survival skills.

With the end of the war, a
number of ex-combatants have passed down their weapons to younger members
of their communities. The younger gun-holders are also hearing stories of
war bravery associated with the armed violence, and these are forming
parts of received masculinity patterns. To them, guns give them access to
status that is otherwise reserved for elders. For the youth, the easy
access to guns is creating the rapid development of a gun culture that
challenges traditional and cultural ways of acquiring status and
importance within communities.

During the crisis traditional
leadership structures were affected, but in recent years they are slowly
regaining authority in communities with clan and family structures
returning. However, tensions remain especially in the Southern region not
least among the “lost” generation of youth that grew up in the jungle and
that were forgotten in the peace process, together with women.

There are many variables
exacerbating and fuelling this violence. Among them, gender identities –
the way in which men and women are socialized, the roles and expectations
that are placed on them by family and society – “what it means to be a
man,” and “what it means to be a woman,” - is a key feature. An emerging
hypothesis is that for men, the use and control of violence - in both the
private and public sphere – is increasingly a critical feature of their
social identity and sense of manhood.[5]

C) Engaging Men and Boys to
Prevent Violence

Recently there has been a
growing recognition of the importance of working with men and boys for
violence prevention. As the World Bank states[6]
“the subject of male identities, the link between masculinity and
violence, the need to encourage a non-militarized masculinity and the
particular positions of adolescent and young men require considerable
attention in research, programme design and planning.”

Global research has
highlighted that approaches that work exclusively with women or do not
address masculinity issues have proven to be ineffective in violence
prevention[7].
In the Pacific there has been research on the incidence and prevalence of
VAW, however, there has been less attention on the causes of violence or
on men’s gendered roles – how violence influences them and why men use
violence to assert themselves. Given the majority of perpetrators are
young men, it is critical to gain an understanding of their experiences
and identify potential alternatives and positive role models to prevent
and reduce incidences of violence in the region.

D) Rationale for Action
Research

In 2008 the PNG Government
approved the UN Country Programme (UNCP) – A Partnership for Nation
Building, for the period 2008 – 2012. The UNCP has three intermediary
outcomes that focus on crisis prevention and recovery: a) conflict
prevention and nation building b) disaster risk management c) Gender-Based
Violence (GBV).

Building on existing partnerships, programming experience and field
presence, the work on community security, peace building and gender-based
violence will commence first in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

While the environment in PNG
is riddled with complexities making it difficult to tackle the issue of
GBV, there is a renewed focus on addressing GBV through a national
strategy and action plan on ending family and sexual violence in PNG,
through the Family Sexual Violence Action Committee (FSVAC) and the work
of the National Council of Women (NCW).

The UNDP GBV work programme
has three main components: a) Research for Policy & Programming:
adding to the research base to support a stronger evidence base for
further targeted advocacy, policy support and programming to address GBV;
b) Awareness for Action: use targeted and relevant messaging to
raise awareness with youth groups and involve boys and men in supporting
GBV prevention; c) Institutional Capacity Development for enhanced
response and prevention for GBV: a two-pronged approach to support the
formal and informal response mechanisms which support women’s security and
prevent further perpetuation of GBV.

The UNDP GBV work programme
will leverage support from the UNDP Pacific Centre and the UN Partners for
Prevention Programme (P4P): Working with men and boys to prevent
gender-based violence in the Asia-Pacific region. P4P have developed a
regional research project on engaging men and boys to prevent gender-based
violence in the Asia-Pacific region, including some conflict and
post-conflict contexts. This includes research in China, Cambodia,
Bangladesh and Indonesia.

In Bougainville there is a
lack of reliable information related to violence in Bougainville. This
includes statistics and prevalence of different forms of violence, a lack
of understanding of the root causes and triggers of violence from a gender
perspective; lack of understanding of boy’s and men’s attitudes and
behaviours related to violence.

Within this context and with
the UNCP in mind, UNDP Papua New Guinea Country Office in partnership with
UNDP Pacific Centre and supported by the UN Partners for Prevention
Programming are proposing to undertake action-oriented research on the
gender dimensions of violence in Bougainville.

The objectives of this
action-oriented research are the following:

·To provide a
baseline/benchmark of men’s and boy’s attitudes and behaviours towards
violence within a post-conflict context and ongoing peace process;

Review and adapt ongoing UN
programming on GBV prevention, community security, social cohesion,
small arms control, reintegration of ex-combatants and reconciliation to
address differentiated needs of men and women, boys and girls.

To strengthen the evidence
based for more comprehensive policy responses to violence from a gender
perspective and identify spaces where policy enhancements can be made to
advance gender equality in Bougainville.

To inform the design pilot
initiatives and determine existing efforts to engage men and boys to
prevent violence that can be scaled up in Bougainville.

The action research has three
main components:

Quantitative research –
cross-sectional household survey with men and women (based on the
International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES));

Qualitative research –
in-depth, life history interviews with men focusing on alternative
non-violent understandings of “manhood” / “masculinity” and with male
perpetrators of violence;

Policy analysis – analysis
of institutional factors that contribute to dominant masculinities and
GBV and mapping governance and policy spaces to identify entry points
for engaging boys and men for violence prevention.

Understanding the gender
dimensions of violence require looking at multiple, interconnected factors
at the societal, community, family and individual levels. The structure of
the research, with three inter-connected and complementary components,
creates a comprehensive and holistic picture of the underlying norms,
attitudes and behaviours related to the use of violence from a gender
perspective in Bougainville.

UNDP Papua New
Guinea is seeking a national research organization to carry out the
quantitative research survey – based on the IMAGES tool and adapted to the
Bougainville context.

2)
OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The overarching objective of
this assignment is to undertake the quantitative research survey in
Bougainville, analyze the data and draft a report of the findings.
Technical assistance and oversight for this process will be provided by a
National Working Group and an Asia-Pacific Regional Technical Advisory
Group.

The focus of the quantitative
survey and data analysis is the following:

·Prevalence of
different types (political, social, criminal, economic etc) of violence in
Bougainville based on a fully representative sample;

·Current
behaviours and attitudes of men focusing on gender dimensions violence and
the post-conflict context in Bougainville;

Compare these results with
women’s attitudes and behaviours on the same issues;

Explore individual,
community and social factors that explain variation in men’s behaviours.

Assess men’s knowledge of
attitudes towards policies that have sought to promote gender equality
and on the peace process;

3)
SCOPE OF WORK

For the research a working
group will be set up comprised of provincial and national government, UN,
civil society and research/academic institution. They will provide support
and advice during the three components of the research: quantitative,
qualitative and policy analysis. Different partners may take on different
roles for the different components of the research but the three
components should be understood as a whole process.

A cross sectional survey will
be carried out in Bougainville with randomly selected men and women from
the prescribed study sites (will be discussed after the award, however the
bidders are encouraged to suggest their thinking) on men’s and women’s
behaviors and attitudes as they relate to gender equality and violence.

Men and women ages 18 to 49
years will be interviewed. These individuals will also be a representative
sample of the different socio-economic classes of the study sites. Sample
size for the quantitative study is approximately 1500 for both men and
women. To insure the safety of women, interviews
with men and women are not carried out in the same household.

Implementation
Stages

Programming Personal Digital
Assistants:The survey will use personal
digital assistants in the data collection for the following reasons:

•They facilitates the asking of questions about the most sensitive
topics;

•They address the ethical issues related to asking questions of men
about involvement in criminal activities (i.e. rape, theft etc). It is
unethical for an interviewer to ask such questions face-to-face as they
may have a legal obligation to report positive responses to the police.
With PDAs the respondent’s answers will remain totally anonymous;

•They address issues of interviewer fatigue and interviewer bias;

•Experience from the previous studies clearly indicates that
self-administered paper and pencil questionnaires are difficult for
respondents to complete due to complex skip patterns. This often results
in missing data. PDAs can be programmed to automatically make the
necessary skips, thus addressing this issue;

•PDAs can be audio enhanced which is particularly useful for
populations with low literacy.

The UN Partners for
Prevention Programme will be procuring and programming the PDAs for the
survey research.

National Research Protocol:
The successful research institute will work with the National Working
Group to develop a national protocol (based on regional protocol) for the
quantitative research phase.

Instrument adaptation and
validation:

The large scale survey of 1500
men and 1500 women will be adapted for the Bougainville context from
IMAGES by the National Working Group, which the successful research
institute will be part of.

The surveys will include
items relevant to the key constructs of gender norms; attitudes toward
women in general; gender dimensions of different types of violence; Survey
items will assess knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, values, and practices
relevant to all the key constructs. Item response format will include
Likert-type, yes/no, and checklist. The instruments will be translated
into the local language using a back translation method to insure
accuracy.

The instruments will be
piloted with a small sample of respondents to assess instrument utility
(e.g., with regard to meaning, language, clarity of instructions).
Revisions will be made on the basis of this feedback. The revised
instrument will then be administered to a representative sample for the
larger survey. A field supervisor will make sure the data collected is of
highest quality and will do quality checks on a regular basis.

Training of Field
Investigators

Given the complexity of the
questionnaire and the sensitivity of the research topic, and based on WHO
ethical guidelines for research on violence against women, interviewer
training will require a minimum of 2 weeks. Technical assistance
for interviewer training will be provided by UN Partners for Prevention.

Interviewer training will
focus on practicing using the questionnaire, and on preparing the
interviewer for the field. The curriculum for training interviewers will
cover the following:

·Sensitization
activities on gender and violence against women;

·Employment
expectations, payment and working conditions, mechanisms for quality
control;

·The aim of the
survey, the role of the interviewer, how to conduct interviews;

·Elementary
counseling principles and techniques;

·The importance
of safety, privacy and maintaining confidentiality;

·Procedures on
how to respond to men/women reporting violence;

·Practice
interviews, including identifying when it is safe to proceed with an
interview, ways to handle interrupted interviews;

·Sampling
procedures, including repeated visits and re-sampling;

·Use of PDAs.

Data Cleaning:

With the use of PDAs, no data
entry will be required. The research institute will be responsible for
data cleaning with technical support from the regional advisory group.

Data Analysis Plan: Analysis will include
frequencies, and measures of association between relevant variables, and
the testing of hypotheses regarding associations and factors associated
with men’s attitudes, behaviours and GBV.

A data analysis
and report writing workshop will be organized in collaboration with the
Technical Support Team for the analysis plan of the collected data. This
workshop will in identifying key indicators which can then be used for
wider dissemination. One of the key outcomes of this workshop will be the
finalization of the contents of the report.

Experience in research that
aims to understand the gender dimensions of violence or men’s attitudes
towards violence, or in areas related to gender and violence a strong
asset;

Education for research team:
advanced university degree in research methods or related field;

Demonstrated ability to
ensure representative sampling and rigorous data collection resulting in
comprehensive and quality data: i.e. A strong portfolio of past research
projects and examples of work available for review during the bidding
process.

Understanding of and respect
for ethical and safety issues associated with conducting research on
violence against women.

Language: research team must
be able to work and communicate well in English and knowledge of the
local language would be an asset.

Interested research
institutions are encouraged to form research teams from multi-sectoral
disciplines and agencies for the survey.

8) GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

* Submitted offers will be
reviewed to determine compliance with the criteria/requirement included in
the TOR. Examples of formal requirements may include, but not limited to,
the following:

* No additional
support services or cost reimbursement will be provided outside of the
amount agreed upon in the contract.

* The data, study
report and findings will be treated as UNDP property. The reports or
documents or any part, therefore, cannot be sold, used, or reproduced in
any manner without the prior written approval of UNDP.

* Information related to evaluation of proposals and
recommendations concerning awards shall not be disclosed to the
organizations who submitted the proposals or to other persons not
officially concerned with the process, until the winning organization has
been awarded the contract.

* The proposal
shall be valid for 90 days from the deadline for submission. UNDP will
make its best effort to select a company/organization within this period.

* The cost of
preparing a proposal and of negotiating a contract, including any related
travel, is not reimbursable nor can it be included as a direct cost of the
assignment.

* The price
component must contain an overall quotation in a single currency, either
PNG Kina or in US Dollars. If you opt for the latter and for evaluation
purposes only, your proposal will be converted into PNG currency using the
United Nations rate of exchange in effect on the date submissions are due.

* The proposals must be received by UNDP at the above
address on or before Wednesday, 30the June 2010 at or before 1700 hrs
Fiji time. Any proposal received after
this date may be rejected. UNDP may, at its discretion, extend the
deadline for the submission of proposals.

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